Sunday, February 21, 2010

Chinese ink painting haibun

Saturday, February 20, I participated in a Poets on Site reading highlighting the art works of Hyunsook Cho displayed in the Gallery of Contemporary Art at the Paciific Asia Museum in Pasadena, CA. Her works, “Sketches of China: Works on Paper” were on exhibit in the museum from January 6 to February 11. Sketches present the artist’s re-interpretation of traditional Chinese ink painting in different media - watercolor, gouache, graphite pencil and dried leaves collected by the artist in China. Members of the Southern California Haiku Study Group wrote poems, either haiku or habun, on their favorite painting. Here is my haibun or prose poem with Hyunsook's painting.

No matter where my restlessness and sense of adventure lead me in my travels abroad, the call of the tropical sun proves irresistible, beckoning me home to a familiar place where I grew up. The venerable and ancient mountains always bring balance and sense of power in my life. In their shadows, I am refreshed and strenghtened to face life’s challenges once more.

About Me

I am a member of World Haiku Club, Tanka Society of America, Anglo-Japanese Tanka Society and Southern California Haiku Study Group. In 2005, I published my first book, RUSTLE OF BAMBOO LEAVES: SELECTED HAIKU AND OTHER POEMS.
My poems have been published in numerous print and online magazines and some included in anthologies. Most of them were published in World Haiku Review, but some also appeared in Sketchbook, Lynx, journal for linking poets, Stylus Poetry Journal, Simply Haiku, The Heron's Nest, Mainichi Daily News, Amaze, the Cinquain Journal, Ribbons, Lishanu, Our Own Voice, Notes from the Gean, and others.